Choices
by Rowena Prince
Summary: When Max escaped Manticore, she headed east instead of west. This leads her to meeting one Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.


Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places you recognize. I make no money from this.

AN: Thanks to Illucida who cheered me on to write this.

* * *

It was 0800 hours when the call came in. Gibbs was up in MTAC talking to Vance and others who arrived about the 'Pulse' that occurred three months ago. McGee was down with Abby, once again trying to 'bring to life' her electronics and recover the data that was lost from the 'Pulse'. Ziva, well she was just in the bathroom.

Tony answered the phone with his typical, happy, "DiNozzo!" In hopes to help cheer the person on the other end.

"This is Chief Clarkson from the Columbus, Ohio Police Department," replies a frustrated male voice.

"Columbus? This must be bad." Tony sits up a little straighter while pulling out a pen and a notepad.

"I've been redirected by half a dozen agencies. They told me this number belongs to the only team available with high enough clearance for our situation."

"Okay, I'm taking notes as we speak."

"We apprehended a group of suspects we believe to have been involved with the terrorist plot that led to the 'Pulse'."

"We'll be there as soon as we can Chief Clarkson."

"Good, my men are getting restless."

Tony lets out a sigh when the man on the other end hangs up. He really didn't want to go to Ohio. He also has a bad feeling about the call. The Chief sounded a little too frustrated.

Ever since the 'Pulse' occurred people have been warier. Usually that would be a good thing, but the level of paranoia going around is much worse than 9/11. At least with 9/11, there was a face to go with the fear.

The Special Agent looks up just as Gibbs starts down the stairs.

"The PD in Columbus, Ohio thinks they have apprehended a group of terrorist connected to the 'Pulse'. They were directed to us, because we are the only team currently available," Tony updates his boss.

Just then the elevator door opens and McGee walks out. By the time he gets to his desk, Ziva exits the restroom.

"Go home and grab a week's worth of clothes. We're going to Ohio. Meet back here at 1000 hours," Gibbs barks.

Tony opens a drawer and grabs his keys before heading to the stairs. He's been wary of the elevators since the day of the 'Pulse'. He had been in the elevator for eight hours before the janitor realized someone was inside.

The parking garage is empty when he reaches the floor, and the drive to his apartment is uneventful. After parking his car, he goes to the fourth floor to his apartment 413. The number almost makes him snort. Maybe that's the reason his apartment always has something wrong with it.

The inside is sparsely furnished. A worn sofa, a large TV, and several bookcases are all that are in the living area. In the bedroom while the bed is covered in Egyptian cotton sheets, there is only one dresser and two bedside tables.

He quickly takes three suits out of his closet, as well as the shoes to match, and a pair of tennis-shoes. From his drawers, he grabs six pairs of socks, two boxers (just in case), four sweaters, two pairs of jeans, and two tee-shirts. He puts his stuff in a sports bag before moving to the bathroom and packing a toothbrush, he can always buy hygiene products there.

After double checking he has everything, he locks up and goes to apartment 414. He knocks twice and smiles when the door opens revealing a 70+ year old woman.

"I'll be gone for a week or more Mrs. Calroson," Tony informs his neighbor.

"Stay safe sonny. Don't let that boss of yours work you too hard," she replies giving him a fond look.

Tony quickly says his goodbyes before heading back to work. He shakes his head when he sees that Gibbs car is already in the parking garage. Once back in the bullpen he locks up anything he doesn't want stolen.

Just as Gibbs walks in with a coffee, Ziva and McGee arrive with their gear.

"Let's go," is the only thing Gibbs has to say before they are on their way.

* * *

Tony wants to laugh when once again Gibbs is asleep on the plane and McGee looks a little green around the gills.

"I thought you would be used to this by now McGee," Ziva comments while looking up from her puzzle book.

McGee attempts to give her a dirty look, but fails when the plane hits some turbulence.

"Here McGumbo," Tony says before tossing a tube of Dramamine at the younger agent.

McGee gratefully takes a tablet, ignoring both the taste and the name.

"Do you think he's faking?" McGee asks, pointing at Gibbs.

"Nope."

* * *

When they reach the police department, Tony can't hold back his look of disgust. The group of "terrorists" is made up mostly of homeless and children. Since the 'Pulse' happened, it seems that fingers were pointing at everyone. With no profile of the terrorists, anyone who was different ended up being a suspect. It made finding the real culprits that much harder.

Jobs quickly get assigned. Tony questions the men, Ziva the women, Gibbs the children, and Tim goes with one of the locals to where they apprehended the group.

The first man almost reminds him of Santa. White beard, white hair and rosy cheeks. After the first few questions, he can tell that the man had nothing to do with the 'Pulse'. The only reason the man even knew about the 'Pulse' was because of everyone talking about it.

Each man he talked to were obviously only taken in because of their poor state of dress and hygiene. Out of the group of 17 people, only eight were male.

He looks around the precinct and can immediately tell that the locals aren't very helpful. At the far end of the building Gibbs is obviously 'tearing a new one' into one of the officers.

He's so amused with this sight that he doesn't notice Ziva until she's almost on top of him.

"There is a child that will not talk to Gibbs or me. She just glares and moves away from us," the former Israeli tells him.

"Why? I'm no good with kids."

"McGee in not back yet, and I do not think it wise to let one of the officers near her," is her response before she motions to a bench against the far left wall.

"I'll see what I can do," Tony says as turns his gaze towards the bench.

When he lays eyes upon the child, his gut tightens. He can barely tell that the child is a girl. Her hair is short and choppy, as if she was clean shaven recently. Her clothes are dingy and stained. They were either gray or white at one time, it was difficult to tell. She also seems to be observing everyone suspiciously, or as if they were her enemy. Tony also notices that she can see the entire room from her vantage point.

Walking across the room, Tony takes a seat on the opposite side of the bench from the girl. He takes note that she inches slightly away and seems to be watching him.

"Hi, I'm Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, though my friends call me Tony. What's yours?" Tony starts, hoping to at least get a slight smile.

The girl turns her head slightly away from him, but continues watching him and the room. Evidently she's wary of strangers.

"This reminds me of the movie Fahrenheit 451. In it, books were burned because the government believed that they were the reason bad things occurred. That if there were no books, thoughts of rebellion could not grow. You were taken into custody because they thought that the bad things that are happening were caused partly because of this group. I believe that most if not all of you, are innocent of these terrorism charges," the NCIS agent explains to the girl.

She finally looks at him when he pauses. Her expression is still guarded, but he can see confusion in her eyes. A smile tugs at Tony's lips. At least he got a reaction. His gut is screaming at him that there is something special about her.

Her eyes are a lighter shade of brown than her hair, and he realizes that it's the first time he's found the color pretty. Her lips are full, almost too full for a child, and her gaze makes her look older than she must be.

A loud sound catches both of their attentions, causing them to look to their right. It turns out that someone only knocked over a chair, but it allows Tony to notice something dark on the back of the girl's neck.

A frown forms on Tony's face when he realizes that it is a tattoo of a barcode. It's barbaric that someone would tattoo a girl so young. Much less with an image of ownership. By the time she looks at him, he's already slapped on a smile.

"I love movies, though it looks like I'm going to have to rely on other countries for new material. The technology was completely wiped out in Hollywood so they can't make new films," Tony comments while fiddling with his notepad.

Her eyes narrow, and Tony swears she looks like a little Gibbs in that moment.

"Milk," is the first word he hears from her almost pouty lips.

Tony blinks for a moment, trying to process what she said.

"Milk? ...Oh! Milk! Ok, I'll go get you some," Tony babbles before getting up and searching for the break room.

Once he finds the room he searches the fridge. He soon discovers there is no milk, much less any dairy products.

"Crap," he mutters before going back out.

Glancing at the bench, he sees that the girl is still there, but she has her arms wrapped around herself, shivering slightly and glaring at everyone. Well, it is a little cold.

With a cursory look around the precinct, he sees that Ziva is busy talking and Gibbs is yelling at yet another officer. Great, that means no one will question why he's leaving, and if they do when he returns, well, he'll just bring back coffee.

He quickly exits the police department without drawing any attention to himself. His chest and lungs seem to tighten when the cold air hits him. The special agent ignores this and jogs to the store down the street.

Immediately, he sees the refrigerator section and heads for it. He smiles when he sees a half-gallon of Vitamin – D milk. He grabs one and heads for the snack section. There he grabs a box of Twinkies; the girl was probably hungry after all. After that he goes to the miscellaneous aisle and obtains cups and a child's jacket.

His next stop is the deli. There he picks up three coffees, one for himself and the other two for Gibbs and Ziva. After making sure each one is how the respective drinker likes it, he checks out and goes back to the station.

He has to fight to hold back a laugh when he sees half the cops avoiding Gibbs like the plague. Then he has to hold back a cough when his lungs reject that thought.

His first stop is Ziva; the former Mossad officer gives him a grateful look as she takes the offered coffee. It's the officers who give him grateful looks when he gives Gibbs a coffee, evidently one of them spilled Gibbs last one.

Heading towards the bench, a frown forms on his face. The girl is shivering more than she was when he left. She looks at him almost startled when he puts the coat around her shoulders.

"That should help warm you up. It's a bit big, but I think that's a good thing in this case," Tony says while opening the package of cups.

The girl puts her arms in the sleeves and hugs the coat while Tony pours milk into a cup. She nods her head in thanks as the girl shakily takes the cup from him.

Tony sits down in his usual spot as the child starts drinking the milk. She watches out of the corner of her eye as the man opens a blue and white box with a strange yellow cowboy on it. He pulls out something from the box and tears open the clear plastic before taking the yellow tubular thing. She almost blinks when he takes a bite from it.

"They're Twinkies. Eat some, they are great," Tony encourages her before devouring the rest of the golden treat.

The girl mimics what she saw Tony do after she finishes her glass of milk. Her eyes widen slightly when she takes her first bite, it is great. After eating two more she has another four glasses of milk.

"You must have been hungry and thirsty. That's great; a growing girl should eat and drink as much as they can. When I was your age, I drank a lot of milk. That's why I'm so tall," the charmer says while eating yet another Twinkie.

The girl wants to tell him, No it's because of genetics, but decides that it's probably best not to.

"I'm going to go find out what's going to be done about this group. As far as I can tell, the group is innocent of all charges. I'll come back when I have some more information. You can eat the rest of the Twinkies if you want to," Tony informs her before standing back up.

She watches as he walks away with a funny feeling. For some reason, she doesn't want him to leave without her.

Tony walks over to Chief Clarkson, a serious expression on his face. At first the Chief takes no notice of him, but eventually the slightly balding man looks up.

"Yes?" the Buckeye says.

"What's going to be done with these people? They haven't done anything to warrant an arrest," Tony inquires.

The Chief stands, clearly trying to appear intimidating. Before the man can open his mouth and put his foot in it, Gibbs shows up beside his lead agent.

"If I were you, I'd help these people back to where you picked them up at," Gibbs suggests, strongly.

A smirk comes to Tony's face when he sees the Chief visibly gulp.

"Right away sir," the man says quickly, almost stumbling over his words.

Oh this would be good, Tony thinks a moment before Gibbs says, "Don't call me sir. I work for a living. I'll even _help_ you get them to their homes."

When the man leaves them to go give the order to his men, Gibbs turns towards Tony.

"Go stay with the girl. When I get back we'll figure out what to do with her, I don't want her back out on the street."

"On it boss."

As Gibbs leaves, Tony walks back over to the milk lover. She looks at him with an embarrassed smile as she holds up the milk jug, it's empty.

"I see you were thirstier than I thought," Tony says before asking, "So, do you have a home?"

"Depends, and my name is Max," she responds, eyes very serious.

A smile brightens Tony's face at the sound of her actually talking, though it quickly turns to a frown as he realizes she said depends.

"Depends on what?"

"You."

"Then you have a home."

"Good," Max says with a confident smile, the same one you would see on a cat with cream.

From the widening of his eyes and the hitch of his breath, Max can tell that the Very Special Agent is slightly confused and cautiously happy. Though his slightly open mouth could be a problem.

"You'll catch flies," she says before lightly touching Tony's chin and closing his mouth.

A smile comes to the agents face and he runs a hand through his hair.

"Well, now that that's settled…I just have to tell my boss."

* * *

When Gibbs walks into the station with McGee in tow, Tony approaches them.

"You get anything out of the girl?" Gibbs questions, glancing over at the bench.

"She likes milk, her name is Max, I think I may have started a Twinkie addiction in her, and she adopted me," he pauses when Gibbs' eye brow goes up and McGee seems to choke, but decides to ignore both and continue, "Boss, there's something about her that I can't shake. I can't leave her, no, I won't leave her. She basically told me I'm her family," Tony explains barely managing to avoid fidgeting.

Gibbs nods slightly as if he can tell that the little rant isn't over.

"For some reason I'm crazy about her Boss. I can't let her go back on the streets. I've only known her for a few hours, but… the thought of leaving here without her…well…it's unbearable," Tony manages to get out without embarrassing himself too bad.

"You sure about this DiNozzo?"

"Yes," Tony responds with conviction, and honestly, he's never been more sure about anything in his life.


End file.
